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AirMagnet Survey PRO vs NetAlly EtherScope nXG comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 14, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

AirMagnet Survey PRO
Ranking in Network Troubleshooting
6th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
39
Ranking in other categories
Network Modeling and Simulation (2nd)
NetAlly EtherScope nXG
Ranking in Network Troubleshooting
3rd
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
23
Ranking in other categories
Network Diagnostics (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Network Troubleshooting category, the mindshare of AirMagnet Survey PRO is 8.9%, up from 6.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NetAlly EtherScope nXG is 8.4%, down from 12.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Troubleshooting Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
NetAlly EtherScope nXG8.4%
AirMagnet Survey PRO8.9%
Other82.7%
Network Troubleshooting
 

Featured Reviews

Mark Witherspoon - PeerSpot reviewer
Wireless Services Manager at Veritas Managed Solutions
A solution for site verifications and enhanced with adapters that provide more realistic readings, but needs to support Wi-Fi 6E
Ekahau and AirMagnet Survey have their own pros and cons, in my opinion. For example, the APs are not visible in Ekahau but AirMagnet Survey allows us to see what APs and channels are being used in a live view, which Ekahau lacks. In Ekahau, the signal from the AP it's capturing at that time is visible which is a bit of an inconvenience. The predictive planner of AirMagnet's is better. However, Ekahau has advantages over AirMagnet because it groups all the SSIDs into one AP, whereas with AirMagnet, one needs to group them manually. Ekahau also supports Wi-Fi 6E, but its licensing is restrictive and more costly.
Doug Dickerson - PeerSpot reviewer
Manager at Northwestern
Handheld form factor, intuitive interface that is easy to use, helps us quickly troubleshoot network problems
It would be helpful if this product interfaced with AirWave. The battery life should be improved. The real negative to the product is the horrible battery life. We had hoped for it to be able to deliver configurations to our network switches, and I think they're developing something for that. However, it doesn't do that now. We were hoping that we would, as we replace or refresh network components, be able to use this tool to push a config file to the switch. For example, the Aruba switches that we're deploying come with a Bluetooth function where we can push configs from our phones. It would be much more convenient to use this device, rather than using our personal cell phones to do it. I think that the capability is there, but it just hasn't been figured out yet.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The benefit is with the ease of use of the software, I am able to show the customer, "Here is what your wireless coverage looks like." It is set up in a fashion that non-technical people can understand it."
"Clear and easy to use maps."
"The most valuable features are the survey, spectrum analysis, and reporting."
"Using the products to ensure the safety of our equipment that we have a lot invested in."
"We use the solution for Wi-Fi and networks."
"Customer service is great."
"I would like to rate the product as eight of ten."
"The predictive survey is the most valuable feature. I use it quite often."
"Another good thing I really liked was that it would not only tell me the IP address, but it would tell me more info. It would grab the CDP off of the CDP profile and read all the info it could get, so I knew what I was looking at."
"My impression of the ease of use is that it definitely is easy to use both the handheld device and the app walking around."
"The whole product is valuable because it's really a bunch of features that make up the one testing utility. Between auto tests, wireless assessments, its ability to do iPerf speed and traffic testing, as well as packet captures — all of those really contribute to a very successful product and allow me to do my job in a better manner."
"EtherScope has made our networking staff more productive. We have remote locations and can use the tools to collaborate. I have other people looking at it at the same time that I am looking at it. With the uploading ability, I can have more eyes on the project at the same time, instead of just one set of eyes."
"It cuts the time down in half. You don't need to get a laptop out and do different testing. We can just grab this one tool, bring it, and do all our network testing, surveying, and reviews to figure out what the problems are with just one device, instead of having to use multiple people and devices to do that. You cut down time by 50% because you won't normally need multiple people onsite. A lot of times, you can do everything with one person and one tool."
"One of the biggest pros of AirMapper is that you just hit upload to the cloud and you can use anything with a web browser to look at it and manipulate it, view it, and even share it. The fact that you can review it now on any computer that has web access is phenomenal, versus using the client. That's been fantastic."
"One of the key measurements that we use out of the device is the channel utilization measurement, how much traffic is on the air in a given channel. That's the most valuable feature for us. The ability to make a very fast measurement of how much traffic is on the air is a key value. Otherwise we'd have to do a packet capture and do some analysis. It speeds up our testing."
"When it comes to that remote troubleshooting perspective of being able to survey an area to see if there are problems, make adjustments, and then have that same individual resurvey that same area, I don't have to send people to a week long class on how to use the device. I know I am getting consistent results, which can verify near real-time, and whether or not the changes that I have implemented solve the problem."
 

Cons

"I would say some of our newer techs that are going out to job sites can be a little bit intimidated by the interface."
"The surveying features are in need of improvement, along with general usability."
"But it's definitely a more expensive solution than other ones."
"It'd be nice if it was cheaper, however, you get value for your money."
"The user interface needs a lot of improvement. The auto-placement of access points is not accurate."
"Printouts are JPEG printouts. The AirMagnet software is proprietary. I can't send my customers a file, because it is AirMagnet file, even for building projects. I can only send JPEGs or screenshots of heat maps."
"When you conduct an active survey and then want to use it for design work, it's actually not very useful."
"It would be nice to have some more training resources for younger techs. We can use them if we need some assistance, but that usually requires one of us who knows what we're doing to calibrate the programs properly."
"The one thing that it doesn't do well, when it's doing airtime utilization measurements, is that it will classify things as non-802.11, and that isn't correct. What it could do better is make sure that it classifies all traffic that's in the air correctly."
"For my usage, I thought the training would be maybe an hour, but I ended up having to spend an additional four to eight hours just to make sure I could adequately translate the data. So, using the tool was not that difficult, but translating the data is where there is a breakdown in what you are demonstrated and what you can actually do."
"There are some inconsistencies in how it uploads the test results to the cloud, but it might just need a minor improvement on the software side. When you don't have an internet connection on the EtherScope when you do the testing, it saves the results into memory. When it has an internet connection, it uploads those results, but it doesn't work all the time. Sometimes, you need to manually push it."
"The main area for improvement that stands out is the lack of a microburst dashboard, which some other vendors offer. However, NetAlly has carved out its niche by focusing on comprehensive network analysis up to layer seven, including automatic network mapping with tools like CyberScope. While there may be some features missing compared to competitors, NetAlly remains strong in its specialized market, providing robust solutions like EtherScope for detailed customer scans, despite being on the pricier side."
"I use the NetAlly site and one of the things I don't like about the topology map, something I wish I could fix, is that the map kind of jiggles if you don't adjust any of the settings."
"NetAlly doesn't have a spectrum analyzer. I have to use other tools to view the spectrum, and this is a problem."
"One point of contention might be that when we were starting it up for the first time, there was a little bit of confusion about registration and getting the proper support plans applied. So, that could be more streamlined, but that's not uncommon in the industry."
"On a hardware spec, it'd be nice to have something above 10-Gigs."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The tool's pricing is medium."
"This product is very expensive."
"The moment we began needing more of the vendor's support, the cost became very high; we switched to another solution."
"The pricing needs improvement."
"The licensing of AirMagnet Survey is different when compared to Ekahu. It is a third of the cost of Ekahau but there are no dedicated laptops to the Sidekick. AirMagnet allows you to license an adapter and share that adapter."
"For technical support, you need an annual license, but it is not worth it."
"There is an annual cost of the solution. There are some additional charges, such as support and maintenance."
"We paid for the additional maintenance on it (for an extra year) to get that extra coverage. This was the first time that we had this solution in-house, and it was pretty pricey. So, we wanted to make sure that anything went wrong, then we could get it repaired."
"Depending on the company, it could be somewhat costly. But just two of these devices can save you thousands upon thousands of dollars."
"It's a pricey device, but I see value in it from a business perspective."
"The cost is not cheap but it totally pays for itself because it can do so much."
"It is relatively high-priced and it should certainly not get any more expensive. I would like it to be $1,000 less, and I think everyone would say that. And of course, maintenance is also a recurring cost."
"It's the best 10Gig network tester for the price on the market."
"It is worth it. The cost benefit of Link-Live is massive because it is included with the cost of the device and the licensing. A lot of people miss that part of it. It is not just the device that you get but it is the ability to look at all of that data later on. You're not having to do all of that on the device. You can just be there, use the device, and then look at the data from the comfort of your office or home afterward."
"The stuff is expensive. I really do wish the price would come down. I don't really call support. I haven't had a problem. But it's really expensive and every year I have to pay them a ton of money. I don't want to make up reasons to justify that cost, but I'm not using the support."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
11%
Retailer
8%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Healthcare Company
10%
Educational Organization
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business21
Midsize Enterprise14
Large Enterprise10
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business11
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise11
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about AirMagnet Survey?
We use the solution for Wi-Fi and networks.
What needs improvement with AirMagnet Survey?
AirMagnet Survey needs to support Wi-Fi 6E otherwise they can lose to the competition. They also need to allow better grouping of SSIDs to one AP, removing the need to filter manually. At the momen...
What is your primary use case for AirMagnet Survey?
We use AirMagnet Survey, for site verifications after the wireless system has been installed. We conduct pre and post-install surveys with it. We have reduced the use since now our customers requir...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NetAlly EtherScope nXG?
In terms of pricing, EtherScope isn't cheap. It's a significant investment, and not a budget option.
What needs improvement with NetAlly EtherScope nXG?
The main area for improvement that stands out is the lack of a microburst dashboard, which some other vendors offer. However, NetAlly has carved out its niche by focusing on comprehensive network a...
What is your primary use case for NetAlly EtherScope nXG?
We mainly use NetAlly EtherScope nXG for troubleshooting. Linksprinter helps us solve problems and understand how things work. For example, SpamTitan is automatic, but beginners might not understan...
 

Also Known As

No data available
EtherScope nXG, EtherScope, netAlly EtherScope, OptiView XG
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Houston Methodist Hospital, Love's Travel Stops
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about AirMagnet Survey PRO vs. NetAlly EtherScope nXG and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
879,425 professionals have used our research since 2012.